


The Stranger Beside Me

by keir



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-23
Updated: 2017-12-23
Packaged: 2019-02-18 20:55:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13108356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keir/pseuds/keir
Summary: Lance feels like his lover is slipping away, like Shiro is just not the same any more. And there's a very deep truth to that.Part of ABO Week 2k17





	The Stranger Beside Me

Lance stared across the space of the quiet holodeck from the doorway. The other man hadn't noticed him yet, back turned to him, and that fact niggled at Lance's mind. He bit his lip as his eyes wandered over the back of Shiro's head, taking in the freshly buzzed undercut, knowing the short hairs would be soft to the touch. The curve of his ears, which Lance loved to bite at, loved to whisper inappropriate things into them. The broad shoulders he would cling to in joy or sorrow. The waist he would wrap his arms around. The pert, round butt that was so squeezable. The strong legs that Lance loved to stroke, feeling muscle and hair while their owner sighed a laugh at his odd quirks.

All of it belonged to Shiro, and yet...

"Lance, what are you still doing up?"

Having finally been spotted, Lance walked toward his lover with a soft smile. "I was hoping to convince you to come to bed with me."

The look on Shiro's face was a war of exasperation and fondness. "Not right now. I need to perfect the coordinates for our next jump through the teludav. If we position ourselves just right, the Galra base won't see us coming and we'll have time to scout out the situation beforenpur attack tomorrow."

"Please, Shiro?" Lance draped himself over one arm, hands gripping tight to a thick bicep. "I'll do that thing with my tongue that you like," he suggested flirtatiously.

"Which one?" Shiro joked back, but then his face went serious. "This is important, Lance. You know missions and the team come before you and me."

"I know, Shiro. It's just..." Lance hesitated, pressing his cheek hard against Shiro's shoulder. "We haven't had much time together lately. I was hoping just this once..."

Shiro lifted a hand and ran it through Lance's hair. He smiled softly as he chucked his lover's chin. "Hey, I haven't forgotten about you, okay?"

"I know." Lance couldn't keep the pain from his voice and turned his head to bury it against Shiro's chest. "I..." So many emotions flooded up so fast that it was hard for him to contain them. Now wasn't the time or the place; he had things he needed to do, he had to concentrate.

"Lance?" Shiro grabbed hold of his shoulders and pushed him back slightly so that he could see his face. "What's wrong?"

Those thick furrowed brows and his lover's soft concern broke him. Tears welled in his eyes and it all started spilling out. "I feel like I've lost you. I don't know where you've gone. I need you to come back to me. I need you to take care of me."

"Lance, I'm right here," Shiro said, looking so confused and lost. "What are you talking about?"

Lance trembled, the secret on his lips, but he couldn't, he just couldn't. Couldn't destroy the illusion, though he could see straight through it.

"Lance? Talk to me, please. What's going on, my little star?"

Lance trembled all over at the use of his intimate pet name. How did he know it? How long had he been there? How far back did the deception go? Lance didn't know and it was killing him inside. Shiro was shaking him lightly now, calling his name over and over and Lance realized he was running out of time. It was going to happen soon. "Shiro, we have to go back to our room," he insisted.

"No, not until you tell me what's going on. What's got you all worked up? What--"

Lance's eyes widened as the break happened sooner than expected. The light in Shiro's eyes died for a moment and the alpha stood there, his whole face blank and body rigid. Almost like he was rebooting, Lance thought to himself, just like he had the many times before this. Lance took a light breath, trying to center himself for what he was about to do. A Queen Omega shouldn't be able to do what he was doing until at least their twentieth year, but Lance wasn't far off from that.

Besides, he had learned to do it early out of necessity.

He was just starting to release the pheromone that would take Shiro under when he was tackled hard enough to leave him gasping for breath. He suddenly found himself on the floor beneath Shiro, who was reared up over him.

Only it wasn't Shiro. The stranger with Shiro's body stared down at him with bloodlust in his eyes. "I'm going to kill you," he stated.

And Lance believed him, just as he had the many times before this, but this time there was a slight wobble to the words, the barest hint of uncertainty. It threw him off and made him pause too long, and the alpha grabbed him by the throat. Lance squirmed and kicked in surprise and terror as the human hand squeezed tightly around his throat, blocking off part of his scent glands and his airway. "I will complete my mission," the stranger said. Lance fought for air, trying to gasp through the hold on his throat, hands flying to the wrist of the hand choking him as he tried to concentrate on releasing enough pheromone to take hold. He stared straight into eyes that belonged to his lover, his alpha, possessed by another person. The Galra arm lifted, glowing bright purple as the stranger snarled, "I will kill you."

Lance saw it coming, stared death in the face when suddenly it halted. The stranger stilled for a moment, and then he started to go lax until his muscles were no longer tensed. Lance pulled away, dragging in huge gulps of air, but he had to stay focused. He bent his will toward the alpha, concentrating hard. The other man fought it, twitching and spasming, eyes rolling back, and though his heart ached at the sight, Lance kept going until finally the alpha's face went blank again.

He had only a moment to gather himself. Lance choked out a tearless sob, shaking hand going to his throat, and then he was coughing, his air passage irritated from the throttling it had received.

A hand touched Lance's shoulder and he startled, his own lashing out in reflex. Shiro caught it easily and stared down at him quizzically as he went through another spasm of coughing. "Lance, are you okay?"

The stranger was gone. Lance's heart ached as he stared at the soft concern on his lover's face. "I'm fine, just had some spit go down the wrong tube, you know?" he tried to joke.

Shiro frowned and stood, then helped Lance to his feet. The alpha blinked a few times then rubbed hard at his eyes. "What time is it?"

"Way past your bed time," Lance said.

"I have a headache," Shiro said as he rolled his head back and forth on his neck.

"It's from staring at those screens for you long," Lance lied. He held out his hand and smiled at Shiro. "Come snuggle with me?"

Shiro took his hand, bowing over it like a gentleman and giving it a light kiss. "Of course, my Queen," he joked.

Lance laughed and tried to make it sound authentic though he didn't feel it. He didn't want to be reminded of his status or what he could do at the moment. Shiro smiled and pulled Lance in close, tucking his hand over the crook of his elbow and placing his own hand over it in the escort position. He leaned down and nuzzled Lance's ear with his lips before murmuring, "Will you do that thing with your tongue that I love before bed?"

Lance's eyes widened as their conversation from minutes before echoed through Shiro's lips. He glanced up at his lover, studying him to make sure the stranger hadn't reemerged, but all he saw was quiet passion. He assumed Shiro interpreted his look as a flirtatious one through his lashes as the alpha smiled. "Of course," he promised. "I would do anything for you, Shiro."

His own words stung as Shiro led him off the holodeck and to their bedroom. He would do anything for Shiro, anything at all. He would even go so far as to lie to the entire team.

They had no idea, of course. No idea that this Shiro wasn't really Shiro. Or maybe he was, but he was just brainwashed; Lance wasn't even sure himself. All he knew for sure was that it was all wrong.

He had found out the hard way, when Shiro had turned against him and he suddenly found a stranger in his lover's body. Shiro had tried to kill him then too, and Lance had reacted defensively, putting Shiro under his Sway. He had never done something like that before, but his instincts and his desperate need had triggered it. He had put Shiro under, had managed to bury those thoughts and feelings beneath what he thought of as the real Shiro.

And for a time everything would be okay, and Lance could almost forget what he had done. Watching Shiro with the others, it was hard to believe that the stranger lurked somewhere beneath the surface. Lance had hoped he would manage to bury him so deep that only the "real," Shiro remained, but so far he had been unsuccessful. In fact, now the effects of his Swaying wore off faster and faster, leaving him scrambling to time it right to get Shiro to the bedroom so he could put him back under. It had just been an unfortunate slip up this time; he wouldn't let his emotions get the best of him next time.

He didn't know how long he could keep this up, and he knew the team would be devastated when they discovered his lie. He just needed a little while longer. A little while to try to figure things out, to try to find a way to amplify the Sway he had over Shiro.

And failing that, a way to cope with losing his love.

"Hey, you all right?" Shiro asked.

Lance leaned his head against Shiro's arm and sighed dramatically. "Your Queen is tired. Carry me to bed?" Lance was only half joking but he gasped as the alpha scooped him up with ease.

"As my Queen wishes," Shiro rumbled as he carried him through the door and to their bedroom.

Lance smiled sadly to himself as he buried his face into Shiro's strong chest. Just a little bit longer.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, find me ad keirdark on Tumblr.


End file.
